Gary Jameson ’65 Peace Corps Posters Included in Smithsonian Archive
11/28/2011 7:10 PM
Peace Corps recruitment posters included in historic collection.
By Ivy Hillman ’12
Three Peace Corps recruitment posters designed by Gary Jameson ’65 are on their way to the Smithsonian.
“I had been in touch with Peace Corps staff for quite awhile after meeting the current director during his visit to Bradley. He was the first to ask if my ‘Peace Sign to “You”‘ poster could be submitted for the Peace Corps archive,” Jameson said.
The poster was accepted into the Smithsonian American History Museum as part of 50 items to be archived as part of a special Peace Corps collection. Jameson decided to submit two more of his original designs, as well.
“I was eventually informed by the Peace Corps staff that the Smithsonian archivists had eagerly accepted all three,” Jameson said. “Because of this, the selection and the reuse of my posters for the 50th anniversary has been a surprising and exciting journey, bringing back many positive memories of my entire Peace Corps experience.”
Jameson joined the Peace Corps just two years after graduating and served in Turkey. After returning to the United States, he immediately became a recruiter. His posters were displayed at several universities. The “Peace Sign to ‘You'” print quickly became a collectible and flew off the walls, as students took them for decoration in their dorm rooms. Due to this success, he was asked to recreate the poster for use nationwide.
“The same poster is in the Wisconsin Historical Society poster collection from the 1960s and 1970s and can be located through its website. Because it was also used as the logo for the recent Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Staff Reunion in Washington and a silk screen version was created for the occasion, some of these will soon be available for sale on the web,” Jameson said.
With the relevance and success of the posters once again on the rise, Jameson’s work may very well pop up on dorm room walls across the country.